Slant toe football shoe



Oct. 22, 1968 F. P. DAN. 3,406,469

SLANT TOE FOOTBALL SHOE Filed April 24, 1967 United States Patent O 3,406,469 SLANT TOE FOOTBALL SHOE Frank P. Dani, 46 S. Midland, Mundelein, Ill. 60060 Filed Apr. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 633,196 4 Claims. (Cl. 36--2.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A football shoe having a square, fiat toe at its front end and which is rearwardly inclined at its upper edge to about 20 degrees so as to permit a football to be kicked higher from placement and thus over a longer distance.

This invention relates generally to football shoes.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a football shoe having a square, fiat toe at its front end, and which is slanted backward approximately 20 degrees so as to follow the normal curve of the tapered ends of a football when kicked from placement, thus permitting a higher and longer kick. This would reduce the chance of the kick from being blocked.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slant toe football shoe having a square, flat toe at its front end that serves much in the manner of the slanted surface of a golf club striking a football, and wherein the angle of slant is specifically designed for best effect.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a slant toe football shoe having the above objects, and which further includes an inner liner or shell within the toe portion of the shoe, the shell being of high impact plastic or hide leather material.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a slant toe football shoe which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efiicient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention shown applied to a football shoe;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view thereof shown partly in cross-section and shown in relation t a football being kicked therefrom;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the shoe, and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 and showing a modified arrangement of front cleats.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the reference numeral represents a slant toe football shoe, according to the present invention wherein there is a conventional football shoe 11 having the usual sole 12, .a heel 13, downward extending cleats 14 from the sole and heel, and a shoe upper 15.

In the present invention, the football shoe 11 further includes a toe portion 16 having a front end that forms a flat, square wall 17 that is upwardly and rearwardly inclined approximately degrees, as is shown in FIG- URE 2 of the drawing. It is to be noted that this fiat, square front wall 17 includes only the area thereof formed upon the upper 15 and does not include the front edge 18 of the sole 12, which is formed conventionally perpendicular to its opposite flat bases.

As is shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, an inner liner or shell 19 is fitted within the shoe and against the front end thereof, the shell 19 being formed preferably from high-impact plastic or hard leather.

As is shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing, the present invention may be applied to a football shoe having the 3,406,469 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 new dual front cleats, or it may be applied, as shown in FIGURE 4 to a football shoe having the regular five cleats.

It is to be noted that while the front edge 18 of the sole 12 is not arcuately inclined at 20 degrees as is the front end of the shoe upper, it will be readily seen from FIGURE 1 that the front edge 18 of the sole is cut straight transversely across in keeping with the flat, front side 17.

In operative use, the square, flat toe with the 20 degree incline will follow the normal curve of the tapered ends of a football when kicked from placement, permitting higher and longer kicks. This would reduce the chances of the kick being blocked. The at surface of the toe would allow more contact with the ball getting more power in the kick, more accuracy and preventing the ball I from sliding off the side of the shoe, as is common with the standard, rounded football shoes. The shape of the present slant toe football shoe also will be more beneficial in punting the football, in that it will give4 a flatter surface at the top of the shoe so that more shoe contacts the ball. This can prevent the chance of slicing the ball as can easily happen with conventional rounded shoes. Furthermore the present shoe having the slanted toe may be worn by all members of a team whether they are backs, or linernen. The hard toe will protect the front portion of the foot, preventing injury to the toes from the opponents cleats when stepped upon or when kicked. The squared off front of the sole will also offer more natural support for the foot when bent when the player is in a crouched position, such as as linemen attain. Elimination of the rounded toe permits adding a second cleat relatively close to the front edge of the sole to permit better traction when turning or cutting-in sharply.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, itis understood that such changes will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as is defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a football shoe, the combination of a shoe sole, a heel at the rear of said sole, a plurality of downwardly extending cleats from said sole and heel, and a shoe upper, said upper having a front toe portion, and said toe portion having self contained means to permit a football to be kicked higher `and over a longer distance, said means comprising said toe portion having a square, fiat, front wall, said front wall being backwardly slanted approximately 20 degrees.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sole has a front edge, said front edge of said sole being of straight configuration along a lower edge of said backwardly inclined, square, flat wall.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said front edge of said sole is generally perpendicular to its upper and lower edges.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein an inner shell is fitted within said shoe and adjacent said toe portion, said shell being formed from high-impact plastic or hide leather.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,107,667 2/1938 Hermson 36-2.5 2,661,547 12/1953 Hyde et al. 36-25 3,270,358 9/ 1966 Milner 36--77 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,249,431 11/ 1960 France.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

